litter

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*legʰ-
2. Latinlectus
3. Late Latinlectuāria
4. Old Frenchlitiere
5. Anglo-Normanlitere
6. Middle Englishlitere
7. English todaylitter

Inherited from Middle English litere, borrowed from Anglo-Norman litere, from Old French litiere (“bedding; bed of loose straw; litter”), from Late Latin lectuāria, from Latin lectus + -āria.

First known use, by meaning

• 1325 Straw, grass, and similar loose material used as bedding for people or animals.
• 1325 A bed, especially a pile of straw (sometimes also with blankets) used as a bed.
• 1325 Animal bedding together with its dung.
• 1330s A mobile bed or couch transported upon or suspended from poles placed over human shoulders or animal backs.
• 1330s Synonym of stretcher, such a vehicle used for transporting the sick and injured, inclusive of designs carried in the hand.
• 1330s Any of the other similar conveyances, such as sedan chairs, hammock litters, and the like.
• 1453 Synonym of straw, grass, etc. more generally, particularly in plaster, thatch, and mulch.
• 1440 An act of giving birth to a number of live young at the same time.